Patna: In an effort to woo its traditional upper caste vote bank in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Tuesday named Brahmin leader Madan Mohan Jha as the new president of its Bihar unit.
Party president Rahul Gandhi kept vote bank politics in mind while framing a new team for Bihar as other partners of the grand alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Hindustani Awam Morcha, have their own reliable vote base.
Gandhi named Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Singh as the chairman of the campaign committee, an important position on the brink of the elections. Singh is considered a strong Bhumihar leader and has been associated with the party even in its turbulent times.
He has created four working president posts to be filled by outgoing state chief Kaukab Qadri, Sameer Kumar Singh, Shyam Sundar and Ashok Kumar. Singh and Sundar belong to the upper caste among Rajputs and Bhumihars respectively and wield influence in their areas.
The move seems to be a well thought-out strategy of Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav, who have met several times in Delhi to focus on specific constituencies.
While the RJD was confident of keeping the Muslim-Yadav combination intact, Yadav had reportedly suggested to Gandhi that the Congress must work on galvanising upper caste voters who were once its traditional vote bank and constitute almost 20 per cent electorate in the state.
Qadri had told News18 recently that his party saw a chance in the anger among upper castes against the BJP over the amendments to the SC/ST Act.
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